SINGAPORE - Drink bottles and soiled nappies thrown from the windows of high rise flats are just some of the sights that greet residents of blocks 2 and 3 at Jalan Kukoh every day.

On Sunday (Oct 2), Jalan Besar Town Council launched a campaign to discourage high rise littering in the Jalan Kukoh area.

Residents of the two rental blocks, which have 534 units altogether, will be provided with 35 rubbish bags a month for the next three months. Each will have a reminder to bag, tie and dispose of their rubbish in the chutes.

Lift doors for the blocks will also have full-length stickers pasted on them to remind residents not to litter.

While numbers on the instances of high rise littering in the area are not available, Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC Dr Lily Neo said she had received many complaints from residents.

Dr Neo, who is also the chairman for the Jalan Besar Town Council, said it is taking a "soft approach" to encourage residents to properly dispose of their rubbish.

"We hope to get the support of residents for a cleaner and healthier environment for everybody," she said, adding that litter could also collect stagnant water which could breed mosquitoes and spread zika and dengue.

There were 2,800 cases of high rise littering reported to the National Environment Agency last year, compared to 2,400 cases the previous year. Two arrests were made for injuries caused by the litter.

The Straits Times

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